Quail Lake is trout hotspot right now

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 10, 2007

As regular walkers around Quail Lake, we have questions about it: When was it built and why? How deep is it near the dam? Where is the water source? How often is the lake stocked?

D. M. Callahan

A 22-acre lake was part of the 1969 master plan for this area, Cheyenne Mountain Ranch, the 3,000-acre planned community developed by Gates Land Co. Quail Lake was turned over to the city in 1974. Kurt Schroeder, park maintenance, trails and open-space manager, said it was built for aesthetics and water runoff. It's 42 feet deep at the dam. The lake is stocked regularly by the Division of Wildlife, which says rainbow trout are plentiful this spring; catching channel catfish should be good when the water reaches 60 degrees; and fishing for bluegills should be fair. The lake is filled with excess potable water, which Schroeder explains, "is when there is more water coming into the utilities water-treatment plant than what they are using." During drought years, the lake went down because there was no excess water.

RECYCLING INFO: We recycle as much as we can, but where can we recycle plastic newspaper bags and plastic grocery bags? How do we dispose of a color TV that no longer works?

Jack Lundberg

Take plastic to any Wal-Mart except the one at Chapel Hills, or call Best Way Disposal, 633-8709. Color TVs through 19 inches are accepted at several recycling sites. You'll find the list in the complete El Paso County recycling directory at adm.elpasoco.com/ Environmental_Services/Solid_Waste_Management.

WHITE TRIANGLES: What are the white triangles on power poles along the highway as you enter Colorado Springs on (Colorado) Highway 115 south? My husband says they have been there a long time. Some poles have one, some two, some poles have four, and other poles have no white triangles. Besides the answer to "What are they?," do they have anything to do with NORAD and Fort Carson, or are they also found in other areas?

Diane Hintze, Williamsburg, CO

We give up. After calling a variety of government agencies including Colorado Springs Utilities, whose poles those are, we struck out. We're guessing there's a reader who can tell us the tale of the triangles.

CONTACT THE WRITER: Puzzled about

something in our area? "Did You Ever Wonder?" is here to help. Send questions to linda.navarro@gazette.com with "Column Question" in the subject line; mail to "Did You Ever Wonder?," P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901; blog at gazette.com. Queries must be signed. No personal replies; because of limited space, not all questions will be answered.